Click on these links to download this fact-sheet, formatted for colour
printing:
page
1 [122 Kb] page
2 [136 kb] (Adobe Acrobat Reader
required)
Across Asia, something new is happening in rural schools: teachers and students are getting out of the classroom and into the local fields to study ecology. IPM for schools
is currently underway in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
IPM in schools is particularly relevant in places like Cambodia where approximately 50% of the population is under the age of 16 years. The future of the environment and agriculture lies in the hands, minds and hearts of the younger generation.
In most South East Asian countries, school systems are mainly concerned with providing 'basic education' which is divorced from the local social, environmental and economic contexts. This situation is changing. Educational theorists such as David Orr have called for ecological literacy to be put at the centre of the formal education process, IPM schools around Asia are an excellent example of 'ecological literacy' in practice. These schools aim to provide children with an education that is relevant to their future lives.
Ecological Agriculture for Students and Teachers
(EAST) started in 1995 at a single school in Nakornsawan Province, Thailand. Thai Education Foundation trainers who had learnt the farmer training approach developed by Community IPM inspired the activities at the Wat Nong Primary School. This approach, the Farmer Field School (FFS) involves weekly sessions in the rice field to conduct an analysis of the agro-ecosystem. Participants discovered that this method gave school students a captivating starting point for integrated learning. It encompasses many parts of the curriculum that have traditionally been taught in the classroom: science, art, literacy and mathematics. The activities here attracted the attention of higher officials in the Ministry of Education and the IPM teachers were awarded a national prize. The schools continue to further refine the curriculum to encourage farmers themselves, parents and other members of the community to become involved in the monitoring of the schools' project and to participate in the students' surveys and other activities.
The Ministry of Education together with Thai Education Foundation (formally known as World Education Asia) established the use of IPM methods in Thai primary education. First used in the sixth class level in schools in some provinces, it soon became the focus of national media. At first, parents were not pleased that their children were spending time in the rice field instead of in the classroom but it did not take long for communities to see the benefits for themselves as well as for the environment.
With UNICEF in Cambodia, CARE in Bangladesh and the FAO in the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand, EAST is having a profound impact on the future management of natural resources and on the way in which 'education' is understood. In Thailand and Cambodia, IPM is attracting interest as part of national education reforms. "It's fun to study out of the classroom. I enjoy looking at insects and learning about them". 11 year-old student in Nakhorsawan Province.
A SFS is much more flexible than the standard school curriculum with much of the detailed content coming from the students' own observations and activities in the field. Students learn by thinking and doing things themselves rather than by listening and copying from a blackboard or a book. Emphasis is placed on teamwork, cooperation and the sharing of ideas and experiences - not keeping knowledge a secret. "It helps us to remember more if we see it alive rather than in a book" (IPM Student in Cambodia).
Courses are held uring the major growing seasons. Most SFSs in rice use a 1000 sq. metre 'learning field'. Participants learn the broad principles of field preparation, soil nutrients, water cycle, rice plant morphology, ecology of the rice field, identification and classification of insects, studies of the life cycle, habitat, diet and characteristics of particular insects and other pests, the impacts of pesticides on the rice field ecosystem and basic farming economics.
SFSs offer the opportunity to put into practice many components of lessons formally taught in the classroom. The
SFS curriculum has proved to be an enjoyable practical way for students to experience, learn and explore subjects such as biology, ecology, mathematics, art, health and environmental
issues. SFSs focus on the exploration and discovery of nature, ecology, the world of plants and insects, traditional wisdom and scientific analysis. In Thai schools it is incorporated with
the compulsory course 'Sor Por Chor' which teaches practical skills for daily life. In addition to observing how rice is grown and how insect pests live, students also write a report and evaluate their work. This helps them to
analyse, think for themselves and work out solutions. Group dynamic exercises and other non-formal education techniques are used in the
training. The training has proved to raise confidence in decision-making and public speaking. Students
have also helped their parents and villages to apply IPM.
"Their parents use chemicals in the paddy fields despite the high cost. We think our students can help transfer the idea of chemical-free farming to their
parents" (School Teacher in Nakhorsawan Province)
After a SFS, students demonstrate to themselves that healthy rice crops can be grown without necessarily using pesticides. They are able to identify pests, disease and natural enemies, understand the relationships between them and understand the implications of their management decisions, eg. Using insecticides. "We wanted to educate our students about natural farming and let them experience how farmers grow rice and what kinds of problems they face" (Teacher, Manas Burapa, Phayuhakiri District).
 | prominent use of student-centred and activity-based learning |
| use of the environment as a teaching resource |
| coverage of many topics in the Science and Social Science Curricular |
| effectiveness of introducing students to practical science, including direct participation in the research process and the development of scientific skills |
| use of integration: allowing students to apply and practice language and mathematic skills in learning about other subjects |
| effectiveness of strengthening school-community relationships through the involvement of farmers in teaching and community members role in monitoring and management |
| focus on relevant 'life skills' for students from rural schools, many of who will not proceed to higher education |
| development of Resource Teachers as a resource people for other farmers in their communities, promoting a broader role for the school community |
| relevance to rural schools where most of the students and teachers come from farming families |
The program is currently in 44 schools in Thailand, involving both rice and vegetable IPM programs. FAO has been supporting activities of World Education who are working with the Ministry of Education and local NGOs to organise pilot IPM activities in 9 provinces in Cambodia. In the Philippines, approximately 4, 000 school children have completed season-long IPM training during the last three years. On a smaller scale, FAO has supported pilot activities for school children in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. In Bangladesh, CARE has covered over 285 schools.
Plans for the future include institutionalising EAST programmes as part of national school systems and incorporating experiential learning approaces in agricultural colleges and universities - which has already been initiated in Thailand.
Note: EAST is a new acronym which is proposed as a replacement for the range of names currently being used to describe the same approach, including 'Student Field Schools' (Cambodia), Children's Field Schools (Philippines), 'Schools IPM' (Thailand), and 'CPI- Children's Participation Initiative (Bangladesh).
Thai Education Foundation: www.thai-ed.org
A new site for the Thai Eco-Schools Network: www.ecoshools.net
The Community IPM Website also has a collection of links focussing on environmental education www.communityipm.org/links.html
'Discovering Ecology in Rice Fields', produced by Thai Education Foundation (TEF), 1998 (20 minutes, VHS/PAL), available on request from TEF or the FAO Community IPM Programme.
These documents are available on request from the FAO Community IPM Programme:
| Report of the Regional Workshop on Schools IPM, prepared by Thai Education Foundation, Thailand 1998 & 2000 |
| Report of National Conference on IPM in Schools, and Case Studies of Student Filed Schools, Nos. 1,2 &3, World Education, Cambodia, 2000 |
| Progress reports of the Children's Participation Initiative, 1997-2000, CARE Bangladesh |
Thai Education Foundation, Marut Jatiket, Director
Email: thaied@inet.co.th